I Got Over My Cynicism on the Coors Field Entertainment District

This is the proposed Coors Field Entertainment District. I have to admit I did NOT like it at first. Here were my impulsive first thoughts:

Oh great, another privately-owned public space.

That hole in the building is a HUGE waste of density potential.

Can we please activate somewhere other than LoDo? It already has so much and I’d love to activate Arapahoe Square or the Golden Triangle.

Can we get something here that is activated more than just pre- and post-Rockies games?

I toned down the cynicism a bit and remembered all of that is irrelevant because a block-sized parking lot is going away. The project will also bring life to the publicly-owned public space that is the 1900 block of Wynkoop (lower left) which currently sits empty except when fans migrate from Union Station and back.

Look at all that wasted potential. Look at it!

Then I read how SUPER mixed use it is: Retail, residential, office, hotel, and public space, plus the entertainment use with the Rockies Hall of Fame.

[Side note: Did you know that Coors Field, despite being the home of the “new” expansion-team Rockies, is the third-oldest stadium in the national league? It’s stupid how often new stadiums get built, and this development is part of the deal the Rockies signed to stay in Coors Field until 2047. So chew on that, other cities, with your spending of public monies on billionaires’ companies.]

So I’ve decided I like it. I like the pedestrian entrance from 20th and Wazee (top center) and how it will draw people into the space. I like that it’s so mixed-use. I know it’s an early rendering, but I like the contemporary way the brick on the exterior fits into the historic LoDo neighborhood. And I love that the god-forsaken, block-sized parking lot is going the way of the suburban mall.